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London, Aug. 17: The world’s largest shaving product companies are facing a dance along a razor’s edge as falling sales indicate a shift in western attitudes to facial hair.

Gillette, which commands 60 per cent of world shaving product sales, warned this month that it was seeing a decline in sales in the developed world.

Analysts said there was a growing acceptance of facial hair in the workplace, despite historic resistance from institutions such as the armed forces.

An analysis last month by the strategy research company, Euromonitor International, warned of trouble for razor makers because of a “vogue for stubble” and “growing acceptance of the unshaven look in the workplace”.

The rising cost of reusable razors in a protracted economic downturn was cited as a factor in falling sales. Companies also face an insurmountable barrier to entry in the world’s most dynamic economy posed by the genetic hairlessness of Chinese men.

At fashion houses in London and Paris, for the first time since the 1960s male models have been wearing full beards. Jody Taylor, artistic director at the hairdressers Toni & Guy, said that television programmes such as Boardwalk Empire had given an acceptable face to men with stubble.

Science has also weighed in on the side of the bearded man. A study from the University of New South Wales in April found that men and women rated men with beards to be more attractive and to have superior parenting ability.

“Our findings confirm that beardedness affects judgments of male socio-sexual attributes and suggest that an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive while full-bearded men may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring,” the researchers wrote.

However, the associations with masculinity and aggression have not impressed the British and American forces, where strict rules on facial hair remain in force.

Queen’s Regulations prohibit beards in the British Army except for Special Forces, though a “full set” beard is allowed in the navy. The Royal Marines, RAF and the army all allow moustaches as long as they do not droop below the corner of the mouth. Sideburns “are not to descend below the mid-point of the ear and are to be trimmed horizontally”.

However, an American rabbi did successfully sue the US Army in 2011 for the religious right to wear a beard.

Facing its own battle of the beards, Gillette has identified beard styling as a counter to falling sales of razors. The company this year launched its Pro-Glide Styler, an electric beard trimmer.

“There is certainly a growing trend towards facial hair styling and it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to sport your style in the workplace too,” said Jared Regan, Gillette’s product brand manager.

“It’s an expression of a man’s individuality and an extension of their personality. Trendsetters like Mr Paxman are leading the way and we’ve reacted to this trend with the launch of our new styling product.”

In May, the company purchased a patent for the “Gillette Body”, a product designed to take the fashion for hair styling to areas below the neck. Research by Procter & Gamble indicates that 29 per cent of American men and 49 per cent of British men already shave some or all of their body hair.

THE TIMES, LONDON